The Druids

Häftad bok. Senate. 1994. 225 sidor.

Nyskick. Förlagsny Kendrick's scholarly historical, anthropological, and archaeological study of the Druids and subjects necessarily related to them for an accurate understanding of them--which is to some extent a contingent understanding--was first published in the latter 1920s. He makes no attempt to popularize the Druids, as has been done by so many recent authors of New Age bent singling out the Druids as exemplary models of nature worship. Today, the Druids are popularly identified with ancient Ireland, adding to their mystique by the suggestion that their spirituality remained pure by being so distant from continental Europe and apart from the British Isles. But Kendrick is not swayed at all by popular beliefs or even more solid presumptions about the Druids found among some scholars. "It seems likely, however, that the druidic caste in Ireland was never anything but a very faint reflection of the Gallic system, and one that speedily became isolated and degenerate." In discussing the subjects of Druidic religion and their temples, including the intriguing stone monuments found in England and also places in Europe, he stays in touch with the archaeological evidence complemented by surviving written documents. In trying to answer the question about the pacific nature of a society figuring into the origins of the Druids, he points out that farming tools found in ancient burial sites far outnumber weapons. But he also notes that this is not conclusive, and makes the point that the proportion changes if one regards a certain kind of ax as a weapon